The University of Maine men’s basketball team suffered a frustrating, 76-74 overtime loss at the University of Binghamton on Thursday night, falling to seventh place in the America East.
Tied 62-62 after regulation, 3-pointers from UMaine juniors Kellen Tynes and Kristians Feierbergs were ultimately canceled out by three Black Bear turnovers, which the Bearcats converted into six fast break points.
Later in overtime, a putback layup for Binghamton senior Nehemiah Benson and two free throws by senior Dan Petcash provided enough cushion for the hosts to secure the season sweep over UMaine, previously beating them 51-50 at the Cross Center on Jan. 27.
Thursday’s matchup was UMaine’s third-to-last game of the regular season, and a must-win for the Black Bears who are desperately trying to avoid No. 1 Vermont and No. 2 UMass-Lowell in the first round of the America East playoffs.
The loss snapped a two-game winning streak for No. 7 UMaine (5-9 in-Conference, 13-16 overall), who swapped placements with No. 5 Binghamton (5-9 in-Conference, 13-14 overall) in the America East standings after Thursday night’s loss.
Binghamton had led 39-31 at halftime with the help of some uncharacteristic 7-for-10 3-point shooting, but UMaine roared back in front when play resumed, taking a 47-41 lead with 13:56 remaining. The two sides traded blows for the rest of the second half, culminating in two ugly final possessions in which UMaine committed a shot clock violation and Binghamton senior Armon Harried missed a putback layup at the final buzzer.
The only two America East teams shooting below 30 percent from beyond the arc this year, UMaine finished 8-for-23 (34.8 percent) from three on Thursday, and Binghamton 11-for-23 (47.8 percent).
Binghamton’s good fortune from beyond the arc was canceled out by its poor free throw shooting, making just nine of 21 total attempts on Thursday. The Bearcats were also playing without starting senior point guard Symir Torrence, who broke UMaine’s hearts on Jan. 27, nailing a running floater to win it with 4.8 seconds remaining.
In Thursday’s rematch, UMaine senior forward Peter Filipovity (eight made free throws, 14 rebounds) and Binghamton sophomore forward Gavin Walsh (two 3-pointers, nine rebounds) finished as the game’s leading scorers with 17 points apiece. Tynes (7-for-13 from the field, three assists) and Harried (three 3-pointers, eight rebounds, seven assists) finished with 16 points apiece.
Next up, UMaine will play No. 6 Albany (5-9) on the road this Saturday at 4 p.m., followed by UMaine’s regular season finale versus No. 2 UMass-Lowell (11-3) at The Pit on Tuesday, March 5 at 6 p.m.
